Jessie Huntley

Class of 2012

Graduated from Homeschool

Jessie Huntley, age 20, is a Springs graduate who also had a career racing motocross. Although he retired from the sport in 2014, during his brief career he achieved much notoriety in the media, and enjoyed traveling to both local and international competitions. Jessie attended Springs from grade 7-12, and graduated in 2012. He began part-time in the classroom, but switched to Homeschool full-time so he could pursue his motocross career. Springs was a perfect fit for his lifestyle. He said, “River Springs was all around awesome for me! I was traveling all over, so it was awesome to have the opportunity of taking my school work with me and doing it on the road instead of stressing about not being able to complete it like it would have been able to with a regular school. ”He is grateful for the assistance of Erika Nevares, his education specialist: “I can’t say enough awesome things about her”. Upon his graduation at age 17, Jessie turned professional. He moved to Costa Rica for a year to compete, “which was an unbelievable experience. It was amazing to see a different country and culture, as well as the way they treated an American coming over to race on their homeland”. He also raced against top motocross professionals in the United States, which, he said, “was something I had dreamed about since I was a little kid”. Injuries contributed to his early retirement in 2014. He explained that motocross was “the most dangerous and physically demanding sport in the world”.  Competitors race on rough tracks in temperatures up to 100 degrees for 40 minutes at a time. The racers’ heart rates can reach 200 beats per minute as they travel at high speeds and take 100-foot jumps. Injuries “are a given” in motocross, Jessie noted. Today, he lives in Nuevo, a small town near Menifee and attends Mount San Jacinto College. He races cross country mountain bikes for fun. He is grateful for his time racing motocross, concluding, “Even though I wasn’t able to accomplish as much as I had wanted, I’m still extremely content to achieve as much as I did! I have absolutely no regrets”.